Chapel Hill , N.C. (January, 27, 2012)—The North Carolina Jaycee Burn Center at UNC Health Care dedicated a new Acute Burn and Wound Unit today and honored its longstanding partnership with North Carolina’s electric cooperatives, whose support made the new unit possible.

“We’re proud of our decades-long tradition of support for the Burn Center, which is recognized as one of the best comprehensive burn centers in the world,” said Dale Lambert, CEO of Randolph Electric Membership Corporation, one of North Carolina’s 26 electric cooperatives. “Our partnership helps ensure all burn victims will receive world-class treatment and that the Burn Center can continue to make strides in advancing scientific knowledge on burn care and rehabilitation.”

The electric cooperatives have fulfilled a five-year, $500,000 commitment to the Burn Center and recently signed on for another five-year, $500,000 pledge. Support from the cooperatives has allowed the Burn Center to cross-train staff in burn care, renovate and install a new wound treatment room, and equip 15 beds in the neighboring Wound Care Unit to accommodate burn patients, increasing the Center’s overall capacity from 21 to 36 beds.

“The support provided by the electric cooperatives has been essential to the success of the Burn Center since its founding,” said Dr. Bruce Cairns, medical director of the Jaycee Burn Center. “This opening of the new Acute Burn and Wound Unit will transform our ability to care for our patients and their families. We cannot possibly thank the cooperatives and their membership enough for their continued support.”

The cooperatives have for years supported burn education and prevention outreach, including projects such as Learn Not To Burn and Start Safe, a pre-school program that emphasizes fire and burn safety in English and Spanish, that has been instrumental in preventing an untold number of burn injuries. The cooperatives also recently sponsored a reunion event that brought 100 burn survivors from central North Carolina together for a Tar Heel basketball game.

North Carolina’s electric cooperatives serve more than 2.5 million people across North Carolina in 93 of the state’s 100 counties. The 26 electric cooperatives are private, independent and not-for-profit entities committed to providing a high standard of service to residential, commercial, industrial and agricultural customers with at-cost electric service. Support of the Burn Center reflects North Carolina’s electric cooperatives’ commitment to community, education and innovation.